1. Description of the Prior Art
This invention pertains to a fiber reinforced plastic grid.
Fiber reinforced plastic grids are gaining acceptance where their low weight and maintenance free performance are valued. Significant savings in weight and in lifetime costs are achievable through the use of such products, and operational experience has indicated satisfactory performance of well over ten years in offshore environments. In view thereof fiber reinforced plastic grids are now frequently used as walkway grids on ships, offshore platforms and other marine structures.
The design of present commercial plastic grids is intimately related to the characteristics of the manufacturing techniques used for their production, usually pultrusion or moulding. A typical design of a conventional plastic grid is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,244,768 and 4,522,009. These prior art references disclose a fiber reinforced plastic flooring grating including a plurality of parallel I-beam support members that are interconnected by a series of transversal interconnecting members which pass through central openings in the support members. In this known design, the bending loads are carried by prismatic sections, which for typical unsupported spans contain a large degree of structural redundancy with respect to their capacity to sustain shear loading.